No. 11 Tabor wears down Friends
It took a little time, but 11th-ranked Tabor methodically wore down Friends and rolled to a 34-7 KCAC victory Saturday afternoon at Adair-Austin Stadium.
The Bluejays (7-1, 6-0 KCAC) ran their offense very efficiently, using a lot of misdirection to constantly keep the Falcons defense off-balance. Tabor amassed 300 rushing yards on 55 carries in the game.
“I think our kids executed as well as we could,” Tabor coach Mike Gardner said. “The nice thing about where we are as a program is we have some fifth-year seniors and fourth-year seniors, and those guys have been with us for a while.
“Any time you have a mature team like that, your execution should be better.”
But Friends (2-6, 2-4) kept Tabor out of the end zone until junior Joseph Donnell dived into a pile at the Friends 40, emerged unscathed and rumbled into the end zone with 52 seconds left in the first quarter. Gardner called that the tipping point in the game.
From that point, the Bluejays were on cruise control, taking a 20-0 halftime lead and putting 27 points on the board before Friends got its lone score on the first play of the fourth quarter, a 60-yard pass from Brett Darling to Garden Plain product Josh Becker.
As tough as Tabor’s offense was, its defense was equally determined, holding Friends to minus-19 yards rushing.
Meanwhile, Donnell and senior D’Marco Smith combined for 204 of the rushing yards on 28 carries and three touchdowns. Donnell gained 122 yards on 10 carries – including scores of 40 and 50 yards.
Not that Friends didn’t have some opportunities. A poor Tabor punt gave the Falcons the ball at the Bluejays 23. But all Friends could muster was two incompletions and a run for no gain. On fourth down, kicker Kelly Roberts missed a 40-yard field goal attempt. Friends also suffered a dropped TD pass as well.
Tabor lost senior quarterback Simon McKee of Halstead to a sprained shoulder, but Gardner praised sophomore backup Trey Schmidt of Goessel, who was able to pick up where McKee left off. Gardner said McKee should be ready for next week’s game at McPherson.
Friends coach Monty Lewis bemoaned the lack of offense and a key fumble at the Tabor 17 that halted a Falcons drive early in the second quarter.
“We knew it would be physical,” Lewis said. “I’m just disappointed that we didn’t put up more of a battle. The miscues cost us early, and I thought early on defensively we played well enough to stay right there with them.
“We played pretty well on first and second down, then third down became a nemesis to us.”
Tabor | 6 | 14 | 7 | 7 | — | 34 |
Friends | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | — | 7 |
T – Donnell 40 run (run failed)
T – Cooper 3 run (Slavens kick)
T – Smith 2 run (Slavens kick)
T – Donnell 50 run (Slavens kick)
F – Becker 60 pass from Darling (Roberts kick)
T – J. McKee 4 run (Slavens kick)
Individual statistics
Rushing — Tabor: Donnell 10-122, Smith 18-82, S. McKee 4-41, Valencia 3-25, Cooper 3-17, Ardallo 1-16, Schmidt 7-12, J. McKee 2-4, Anderson 1-4, Behemeyer 2-(-1). Friends: Rogers 14-14, Rivera 3-14, Denton 6-13, Wesley 1-(-5), Darling 7-(-43).
Passing — Tabor: S. McKee 4-11-0-64. Friends: Darling 11-19-0-135, Denton 0-1-1-0.
Receiving — Tabor: Beale 2-43, J. McKee 1-17, Gill 1-4. Friends: Camp 3-21, Rogers 3-3, Becker 2-71, Stuart 1-19, Denton 1-4, Elpers 1-19, Wesley 1-(-2).
This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 7:38 PM with the headline "No. 11 Tabor wears down Friends."